January Tutorial - 'Squirmin' Along the Bottom by Allan Liddle

Arguably the most controversial material of recent times, we’ve all heard of the ‘Squirmy Worm’ and love it or hate it, the worm is here to stay.

From the ‘bait fishing with flies’ to ‘not proper fly tying,’ I’ve heard lots of reasons why many anglers don’t like using ‘Squirmies’ but the fact is simply this, these things work.

Long ago in my ‘Angling Apprentice’ years bait fishing was an accepted way of chasing our wild trout and grayling and the simple ‘Brandling Worm’ was one of the best baits you could use. Fished below a nylon leader weighted down with lead split shot to get it down to the fish as quickly as possible, the fishing method was simple, get it on the bottom and if it’s not then add more weight. Sound familiar, exactly what we need to do when working Czech or French style.

Simple to tie and simple to form some heavy weight bottom bouncing fish attractors, this material works very well on the Jig Hook and both trout and grayling show more than a passing interest for them. Not so hard to understand when you consider the amount of water-borne or land-borne relatives washed into our water systems and down towards hungry, eager fish.

A well placed ‘Squirmy’ kicking it’s way to the fish can be a real killer and if you fish the river beds with tungsten based flies there’s certainly a place for these in your armoury.

Not the prettiest flies you’ll ever see but who cares if it pulls a fish or three, easy to tie which is just as well because they take some punishment and you almost accept they are expendable when you use them, just like the old days when chasing trout with a humble worm.

Dressing:

Hook: Partridge Patriot Jig (SUJ) Size 6 to Size 10

Thread: Uni 6/0 Red

Under-body: Medium lead foil

Body: Red ‘Squirmy Worm’ material (Veinard)

Bead: 4.0mm (5/23”) Faceted Tungsten Gold (or black) bead (Orvis)

Tying Sequence:

Step 1 Simple start, place bead on hook.

Step 2 Cut 3mm strip of flat lead.

Step 3 Trim lead strip to point to allow a taper at point of winding onto hook.

Step 4 Wind lead onto hook.

Step 5 trim lead and flatten behind bead.

Step 6 Trip lead strip to point and wind on top of first strip starting slightly short to ensure taper at the hook bend.